PROSPECTIVE AND STRATEGIES: MANAGING CROSS CULTURE DIVERSITY IN WORKPLACE

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1 PROSPECTIVE AND STRATEGIES: MANAGING CROSS CULTURE DIVERSITY IN WORKPLACE Prarna Khurana DAV Centenary College, Faridabad(Haryana), India Abstract Rising of global business, with an increasing number of joint venture and cross border partnership greater cooperation within European Union and the business need to embrace people from a variety of ethnic background, have all contributed to the need to develop a cultural sensitivity. Problems can arise in international operations because of cultural ignorance or insensitivity. So there is need to understand cultural differences. Culture differences in modern era play a vital role effects diversity in workplace because of international projects, increasing competition. Cross culture diversity in Workforce is perhaps the most pressing challenge of our times. This paper insights the strategic value and benefits of diversity in the workplace, cultural attributes that provide the prime conditions to harness the benefits of diversity and some pitfalls to avoid when building a cultural diverse in the workplace Keywords Cross culture diversity, Cultural Sensitivity, Workforce Diversity. INTRODUCTION Cultural diversity within our workforce is the norm as well as an economic necessity. Because employees in workplace are becoming increasingly heterogeneous. Diversity is a characteristic of groups of two or more people and typically refers to demographic differences of one sort or another among group members (McGrath,Berdahl, and Arrow, 1995). The term "diversity" refers to the way in which people differ from one another. Such differences affect the way people interact in the workplace; diversity management is a factor for most organizations. In Cultural Diversity in Organizations, Taylor Cox Jr(1993), explained that "cultural diversity means the representation, in one social system, of people with distinctly different group affiliations of cultural significance." Differing group affiliations that are likely to affect the workforce generally involve cultural or identity groups based on ethnicity, national origin, race, and religion. Culture can affect technology, managerial attitudes, managerial ideology and even business government relations. Model of culture 1. Represents the basic, implicit assumptions that govern behavior these assumptions, members of a culture are able to organize themselves in a way that helps them increase the effectiveness of their problem solving process and interact well with each other. 2. The middle ring represent the norms and value of the socity. these can be formal and informal and they are designed to help people understand how they should behave. 3. The explicit artifacts and products of the culture this consists of things as language, food, building and art. Objective of the study: 1) To analyze the present scenario of cross culture diversity in workplace. 2) To analyze the effect of strategies to manage the problem of cross culture differences at workplace. METHODOLOGY Data has been collected from multiple sources of evidence to understand the problem of cross culture diversity at workplace and cultural differences management, in addition to books, journals, websites, and news papers. DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE The word culture stems from the Latin word cultura meaning to cultivate Hofstede (1980) defined cultural as the collective programming of the mind that Page 13

2 distinguishes the member of one category of people from another. Kroeber and kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of culture and found it most commonly used in three basic senses: excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities: an integrated pattern of human Knowledge,belief and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning :and the set of shared attitudes, values,goals and practices that characterizes an institution,organization or group. According to Hofstede s(2001) study there are five well known dimensions of Culture: Power distance Uncertainty Avoidance Individualism Collectivism Masculinity Femininity Long term versus short term orientation CROSS CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN INDIA Cross Cultural Diversity refers to the various distinctions that exist between ethnicity, lifestyles, attitudes, habits, traditions, religions, beliefs, customs, languages, philosophies etc. among different groups of human beings. Man, by nature, is a social animal. Even during the primitive times, men used to live in groups, and till today we continue to live within groups of our own. Since the world is very large, with great geographical, biological and historical differences between various groups of humanity, so each group tends to create a distinct culture of its own over the passage of time. Within the larger culture also various sub-cultures thrive and prosper.as a result, even today if one wants to observe and enjoy the pristine glory of old cultures of humanity, one can discover it easily in Asia. One must also understand that Asia is so large in geographical area, population size and its breathtaking scope, that it is natural that multiple cultures and subcultures will co-exist in this complex web of humanity. The beauty of this diversity lies in its harmonious existence. For instance, in India itself there are over 800 languages, and many more local dialects. Each state has a distinct culture of its own, and the people of each state can be distinguished by their language and accent, their clothing, their food habits, their festivals, customs and traditions etc In reality, there are great benefits of cross-cultural diversity in our world. The whole beauty of human civilization lies in its diverse cultures, and the spiritual and philosophical growth of humanity will be severely stunted in absence of such diversities. Learning s become restricted if we all have only a single line of thought and behavior. Since man is a thinking being, so there are bound to be differences in thought processes of different men across the world. And cultures are ultimately an end-product of the thought processes of a society. Imagine a rainbow with only one color. That would be the bland and tasteless state of a perfectly homogenous human society, where everyone behaves and lives identically like robots. In the final analysis, human beings can never be like machines, and they will always evolve into diverse groups and cultures. Therein lies the beauty of human civilization. DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE DIVERSITY AT WORKPLACE To enhance study we relate Culture diversity in workplace in many dimension like leadership, communication, collectivism and individualism, employee relation etc. Leadership In every country different styles of leadership are used which affect our authority and working style The leadership style depends on the environment in which it is to be used, the groups on which it is being used and the tasks which it is meant to complete.. Hofstede's concepts of Power Distance is related to power distance refers to the degree at which a person feels comfortable with the uneven distribution of power or authority within an organization. example US, England and many Anglo countries participative leadership style are used the reason behind is they believe in individualism and in these countries the behavior of subordinates and superiors attitude are like they are not dependent on any one. Language The challenges of working in a multilingual environment one is. Accents, for one, can make it very difficult to understand what the other person is saying. For the native-english speaker, understanding the words of immigrants whose native languages do not share the roots of English can be most difficult. Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific- Island languages, for example, are structured around a phonetic system that sounds strange to the ear accustomed to hearing only English. Without language communication is incomplete. communication is a two way process it is most difficult task to communicate your message if we belong to different culture there are some Cultural norms relative to language, technological expectations, social organization, authority, nonverbal behavior, and the perception of time. In any organization there is the biggest barrier which affect the work environment. Some example In USA, Canada, Australia it is very common to use first names but in India, Japan it is not good we use suffix according to the position of the people example in the USA use low context communication,they emphasis directness, explicitness and verbal expressiveness. but in Asian culture, high context is the norm,it involves indirectness, implicitness and non verbal expressions. Language play a vital role to convey the message. Masculinity-In workplaces /organizations gender diversity is also exist. in different culture masculinity Page 14

3 and femininity play a role like German, Latin America, Ireland,great Britain, USA these are masculinity countries where money, success are more important, there men and women are treated are equal both have equal opportunities to grow their career, Norway,Sweden.Chile are femininity country. Culture dominant values in society are caring for others and the quality of life in ancient time India used to have male dominant society but now era is changed women have equal opportunity. Time is a component of cultural diversity Cultures differ in how they view time. For example, they differ in the balance between work and family life, and the workplace mix between work and social behavior. Other differences include the perception of overtime, or even the exact meaning of a deadline. Different perceptions of time can cause a great misunderstanding and mishap in the workplace, especially with scheduling and deadlines. Perceptions of time underscore the importance of cultural diversity in the workplace, and how it can impact everyday work. Time zones differences mandated a upon culture awareness workshop for the team members and an optional linguistics program. Value and etiquettes are also factor of culture diversity such as America's emphasis on the individual over the group. They tend to reward individual effort, emphasize individual but in China, Japan they prefer to work in group and they prefer to discuss in group before taking any final decision STRATEGIES TO MANAGE THE PROBLEM OF CROSS CULTURE DIVERSITY AT WORKPLACES Strategies which help to understand culture competence in the workplace., here are some essential : Effective cross-cultural communication skills: When dealing with people from a different culture. Communication is a way that responds positively to individual differences: 1) Include active listening skills and use verbal encourager. 2) Ask questions to clarify information. 3) Body language should give the individual full attention. 4) When speaking be patient, polite and use suitable industry terminology. By culture awareness programs: cultural backgrounds and identities to increase awareness of personal assumptions, values, and biases. The individual s selfawareness of their own cultural identities is as fundamental to service as the informed assumptions about constituents, colleagues, and co-workers cultural backgrounds Minimize differences: This strategy of minimizing cultural differences is commonly adopted by ethnocentric organizations. Here managers do recognize cultural diversity but only as a source of problems. In an ethnocentric organization, managers believe that our way is the best way to organize and manage. They consider others ways of doing as inferior ways of managing. In this approach managers try to reduce the problems of differences by reducing diversity. Cross-cultural Training- can promote workplace diversity and can take a number of forms. For example, using internal or external sources of training to raise awareness of cultural customs and courtesies. Providing an on-the-job mentor for a new employee, who can provide additional information and answer questions, can assist in ensuring the new employee is effective in their job. Cross-cultural training stresses on training employees about other cultures and sensitizing them to the discrimination and biases diverse employees feel. Cross-cultural training aims at helping employees live and work comfortably in another culture. Organizations can use two approaches of training that can play a big role in managing diversity. (i) First approach offers training to diverse groups of employees. People from diverse groups can be trained for an entry-level skill. (ii) Second approach is to provide training to managers and other employees who work with diverse employee s example HSBC bank Malaysia Berhad provides cross culture training to its employees by this they benefit learning each other culture in order to coordinate and work better. Cultural assimilator: is a programmed learning technique that is designed to expose employees of one culture to some of the attitudes, customs, etc. of another culture Talent Management -. It focuses on capabilities and competence and recognizes employees as key strategic resources making a unique composition in each organization. Effective HR policies can create an environment of creativity and innovation which help to increase employee engagement (Schramm, 2007). It is one thing to have a dynamic and talented workforce, to retain it. Fundamental differences among people arise from nationality, ethnicity, and culture, as well as from family background and individual experiences. These differences affect beliefs, practices, and behavior and also influence our expectations of one another: in our workplace BENEFITS OF THE CROSS CULTURE DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE Culturally diverse groups in today s MNC, there also a host of benefits to be gained. it enhance creativity,lead to better decisions and effective and productive performance. So some benefits as follows :- Page 15

4 1) Managing diversity can create a competitive advantage for the business. Potential benefits of this diversity include better decision making, higher creativity and innovation. 2) working with those people who belongs to different nation make effective interaction process and job performance; these benefits occur after a diverse group has been together for a period of time by this Managers must understand their firm s culture first and then implement diversity strategies according to that culture (Hayes, 1999) and achieve greater success 3) In organization different generation of people worked so there is diversity in the generations by this more and better ideas developed we get creative solutions of the problem and recommendations. GLOBAL CASES OF CROSS CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AT WORKPLACES In Korea, addressing someone by their title or position is important. People at work call each other by their job positions, while Westerners use first names, or Mr., Mrs., or Ms., plus family names for respect. In Western culture, position titles only indicate personsin-charge, and are not used when addressing that person. Mr. or Mrs. is acceptable regardless of someone s position, with first names used once two people are on friendly terms. Germans are well-known for their punctuality. In many African and South American countries, however, scheduled appointments are often treated like a general guideline rather than something one has to strictly abide by. Eye contact varies by culture. Countries such as Mexican, Japanese, Korean and many indigenous Australian cultures, avoidance of eye contact means respect. This is sometimes misinterpreted as not listening or being rude. Physical distance during social interactions varies by culture. In areas of the Middle East and South America, people stand very close when talking.european Americans like to have more distance between them, while African Americans prefer even more space. Not being aware of this can even prevent someone from understanding or accepting the ideas you're trying to get across. Culture greatly influences attitudes about physical contact, whether it's handshake, hug, or pat on the back. In Asia, female friends often hold hands and men casually embrace one another as they walk down the street. Americans, however, may feel uncomfortable with such public behavior. In some Asian cultures, affectionately patting an adult's head is strictly banned, although it can be acceptable behavior between adults and young children. In Russia verbal communication has a lot of meaning; and only by this kind of communication people transfer, share implicit knowledge, and create new knowledge. Most people prefer to share knowledge orally, i.e. at conferences, meetings, gatherings. In India system of hierarchy in the work-place, senior colleagues are obeyed and respected. Supervisors are expected to monitor an individual's work and shoulder the responsibility of meeting deadlines. Therefore, it is important to double-check and keep track of time. Educated Indians have learnt to adapt to the western methods of monitoring one s own work and completing it on schedule. In Japan team members may not give their critical opinion as they want others to save but in e Australia feels that they are not saying what is on your mind this shows a lack of honesty. In china start their day early.all their timings are earlier than Europe and USA.working hours for business and government are from 8.00 am p.m Monday through Saturday. The best time for scheduling appointments is April- June and September- October. CONCLUSION Cross-cultural diversity is inevitable in our world, and it has great benefits for man if we can positively channelize the beauty, the strengths and the learning s that arises from these diversities. Cultural diversity is essential to maintaining a balanced organization. In global organizations whose operations include business dealings and affiliations in other countries, understanding cultural differences is key to successful business partnerships. Employees should be aware of the importance of respecting the cultural differences of others, and employers can offer training to increase awareness and to better equip employees to function in a diverse workplace.. People from various culture think and act differently while operating on the same dimensions e.g. on communication, or time or status. once these cultural variations are known and understood, corporate succeed in getting a group of people from different cultures to work together harmoniously. REFERENCES 1. Hodgetts Richard. M., Luthans Fred, Jonathan P.Doh. International Management culture, strategy and behavior, sixth edition, Tata Mc Graw- Hill, New Delhi 2. Dowling Peter. J. International Human Resource Management,managing People in a Multinational Context - 4th Edition. 3. Deresky Helen International Management Managing across Borders and Culture 5th Edition, Pearson Education, New Delhi Page 16

5 4. Francesco, International Organizational Behavior, 2nd Edition, Pearson Education, New Delhi 5. Rattan International Journal Of Management &Technology, Vol.1. December, Page 17